SOLI Chamber Ensemble, which includes Stephanie Kay, clarinet; David Mollenauer, cello; Ertan Torgul, violin; and Carolyn True, piano, was founded in 1994 and has been shattering stereotypes for classical music since then. This award-winning ensemble (recipient of the 2013 CMA/ASCAP award for Adverturous Programming, presents concerts featuring underappreciated giants of the modern and contemporary classical repertoire, plus they annually commission new works by emerging and established composers. Their dynamic performances are heard on this disc of four world premiere recordings — all commissioned by SOLI. The music on this recording includes Timothy Kramer's Cycles & Myths, written in 1996; Robert Xavier Rodríguez's Música, por un tiempo (2008); David Heuser's Catching Updrafts; and Alexandra Gardner's Crows.

Review:

“Música, por un tiempo is a big, strong, passionate piece that pivots between two realms — one serene and pensive, built on a broad melody from the bass line of Henry Purcell's song "Music, for a while"; the other a hectic, complex rumba. The Purcell material, which in its original context served mainly to establish the song's harmonic progression, is just a rising series of similar four-note [motives], but when brought to the melodic fore it has a yearning, erotic character, which Rodríguez amplifies and deepens with all manner of textural and coloristic means. The rumba beat, treated to amazing contrapuntal intricacies, raises the erotic temperature to triple digits… The work was commissioned as a companion piece to Messiaen’s Quartet, so “tiempo” also alludes to that. The Spanish rendering reflects Rodriguez’s elaboration and deconstruction of Purcell’s bass line into a rumba, often with a high degree of contrapuntal complexity. The three movements are played without pause. The outer two are rollicking, the central one tender, erotic and meltingly lovely." (IncidentLight.com)

"This is a disc for anyone who enjoys the combination of first-class sound and thoughtful interpretations of interesting music." (Fanfare)